I'd recently been overseas (Japan for the most part) and have been shocked to go into music stores and find how cheap things are and that many shops actually have specials on stuff. One music shop I went to in Kyoto actually had 50% off all Paiste stuff. You know, just like the music shops here do (sarcasm).

It seems that to be a drummer in NZ means that you can't do the things that every other musician can. You can't try out drums in the shop, you can't get deals and you basically get screwed at every level, especially price.

Now, what if there was a place in central Wellington that you could go, play drums before deciding which kit to buy, get cymbals and other bits that would usually be very expensive for between 25 to 50 percent cheaper than stores could do them for? This includes whole kits (say, a Catalina Maple kit with hardware that's about $2700 in shops here for less than $2000 is one thing I've priced up recently), Cymbals, and other big pieces that would normally cost a bomb. Smaller things like clamps, stands and that I might pass on as the savings would be minimal compared to the cost of getting them here. If I bought heads in bulk I'd be able to do them for quite a bit cheaper than stores (say, about $25 for a 14" CS ambassador), but I'm not sure that there would be enough demand to justify bringing those in.

The trade-off is that the stock would be a bit limited. I wouldn't stock budget stuff because if you're selling A Customs for very little more than the price of ZXT's, you may as well only stock A customs. It would be appointment only because the show room would be my studio.

Since I've got the space anyway, I'd have no shop rent to pay, no staff or expenses to speak of. Basically I could run this at no cost other than the stock, which would be dirt cheap. If the profit covers the cost of the studio rent (which isn't much), that's good enough for me in terms of profit, and I'd keep my day job because I'm realistic.

So, would such a place be of interest and would I actually turn over enough stuff to pay for my initial investment on stock? If I made a good, easy to navigate web-site that actually showed you what was in stock in detail (unlike every retailer in NZ, who have crap web sites), would you be more inclined to buy from me by mail order?

Please, any comments/thoughts welcome. Also feel free to tell me if this is a dumb idea.

ive tried to view goods before buying on the NZ net sites and was told 'no viewing items before you buy' protecting crap products no doubt ,so ebay 1 NZ wankers 0. great idea you have your first customer B U T .... could only work in Auckland to get sales required ,you have to population for turnover on a day to day basis realistically.hell you buy DW hardware on ebay paying freight to NZ and still get it for half the price Drum City charge for the same item 'go figure' .

Things like heads and sticks would be of interest. I've bought in small quantities from America for personal use but the freight is starting to get expensive. But if you can bring in enough to offset the freight then the saving would be decent. I resent paying NZ prices for heads and sticks, especially when our $ is so strong.

So, how about an online store type thing. I can do (proper) web design and database stuff, so smaller things like heads and sticks I could just hunt around the distributors for good stuff in real cheap bulk lots.

The only thing, having been an online trader for ages, is that I hate packing and posting stuff. I'm so sick of cardboard and tape and can't be bothered. Especially if I'm only gonna be making a few dollars per order.

wow. dude!!! if you sold decent things in New Zealand for decent prices not "New Zealand prices" I would personally hunt you down and make a point of buying things from you. I'm a big fan of customer loyalty and not to name anybody but some retailers in New Zealand drive me up the wall with ridiculous prices and crappy customer service. If you do this I will definitely buy things from you.

Thing to watch out for is trade agreements. I'd bet top dollar that rockshop has a contract with evans, remo i think are a bit of a whore since drumcity, rockshop and musicworks all stock them, aquarian are musicworks which leaves you with a few smaller brands of heads. importing stuff when people have contracts can get real messy so be careful.

How are you going with this? I'd be keen as as i'm looking to buy some new Paistes and gear soon. Gonna get rid of a lot of gear on TM to try to fund them, and looking around for the best prices. One place in Aussie seems to have good deals going.